Circular machine for knitting ringless hosiery



June14,193s. I G. McK. JONES 2,120,752

CIRCULAR MACHINE FOR KNITTING RINGLESS HOSIERY Filed Marbh 21, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 556271552" MYf. 115x755 32 22W VMYKW June 14, 1938. v

G. M K. JONES CIRCULAR MACHINE FOR KNITTING RINGLESS HOSIERY Filed March 21, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I mm 1 Jonas June 14, 1938. MCK JQNES 2,120,752

CIRCULAR MACHINE FOR KNITTING RINGLESS HOSIERY 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 21, 1935 ITS Fay/5E1" Jane's June 14, 1938. G. McK. JONES CIRCULAR MACHINE FOR KNITTING RINGLESS HOSIERY Filed March 21, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Y ail/2E1 MK 1712 55 5 sheets-sheet '5 gmiwm fiaiZ/zer M K Jonas June 1938. G. M K. JONES CIRCULAR MACHINE FOR KNITTING RINGLESS HOSIERY FilE d March 21, 1935 Patented its 14,193

CIRCULAR MACHINE FOR KNITTING LESS no smnr McKinley Jones, Burlington, N. 0., as-. to May Hosiery Mills, Inc., Burlington,

Gaither signor RING- N. 0., a corporation of North Carolina Application March 21, 1935, Serial No. 12,309 v 8-Claims. (01. 66-8 I jxters of reference have been This invention relates to circular hosiery knitting machines. It has for its object the accomplishment of that which has already been done in full fashion knitting machines, namely, the avoidance of. rings or shadows in the fabric of the knitted stocking.

It is of course known that the cause of the above defects originates in the takingof the yarn from a single cone or spool, in which it frequently happens that a number of yards maybe defective as to color, luster or gage, which defective portion when knitinto the hose in consecutive courses produces bands contrasting with the adjacentfabric.

This may be avoided by drawing the yarn simultaneously from a plurality of cones, and knitting it into consecutive courses, for by the law of chance, it is not likelythat defective places will be encountered at the same time in 'thefthree cones, and consequently, courses knit from the defective cone will be alternated with "courses of perfect yarn fromthe other cones and the ringsor shadows'will-notappear. r

The problem of taking yarns from several sources was not particularly difiicult of solution in its application to full fashion'ma'chinery, for

' stitute the subject of this application.

One of the. objects of the present invention is to provide additional feeds and corresponding additional stitch and leveling cams disposed at suitable arcuate intervals about the needle drum for drawing yarns from the additional cones andincorporating them simultaneously into the 40 knitted fabric in successive courses. v

Another object of the invention is togprovide means for rendering the saidadditional feeds and cams inoperative at will, restoring the machine to its original function of knitting from a single cone only.

One of the objects of. the invention therefore is the provision of auxiliary splice feeds; associated with additional stitching stations. H V

Other objects of the inventionwill appear as the following description of a preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds,-

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of the following specification and throughout the several figures of which the same characemployed to designate identical parts:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a circular knitting machine of the Scott-Williams type c nbodying the'features of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a'top plan view; o Figure 3 is a cross section taken along the line 33 of Figure 1; k

Figure4 is a vertical section througha portion of the machine showing the operating mechanism for one of the auxiliary splice feeds taken. at such a'nglevthat the path of reciprocation of the yarn feeds appears in front of the dial;

Figure 5.is a section taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 4; g

' Figure 6 is a vertical section illustrating the correlated means for simultaneously rendering the auxiliary leveling cams and sinker cams active or inoperative; I

Figure .7 is a bottom plan view of the sinker cam track; V

. Figure 8 is a plan view illustrating the hieans' for holding down the knitted hose at the end of. the adjacent auxiliary stitching stations;

Figure 9 is a perspective in detail of one of the depressing means; Figure 10 is a diagrammatic'view of the four cams instrumental in the effecting of theoperation of the auxiliary devices of the present invention; and

Figure 11 is a development of the needle contour illustrating the position of the additional stitching andleveling cams. y

Referringnow in detail to the several figures, the numeral i represents a hollow tubular standard supporting at its top the needle drum 2 and at its sides, the, cam shafts 3 and which carry the cams through which the functions of the machine are performed, said shafts 3 and l being synchronously driven by suitable means 40 which it is not considered necessary herein to illustrate and describe. v 1

The needle drum 2 is of conventional construction being best shown in Figure 6 comprising a hollow cylinder having the exterior surface deeply grooved longitudinally as at 5 for the re ception of the needles 6, the latter being slid- H able in said grooves with a frictional flt. The v needles as, is customary in the art, arevheldiin place by resilient bands I. Thelower ends of the needles are provided with outwardly" extendingbutts 8 which in the normal machine as heretofore constructed are engaged on their lower edges by a cam 9 for elevating the needles, the

stitching cams II and ii and the central cams the stitching slope of the needle contour in either direction of oscillation of the cylinder. The cam 3| raises the needles to normal elevation after the stitch is made in the reverse oscillation of the cylinder.

The knitting machine is provided with normal feeds, see Figure 2, including a feed I2 for yam derived from the cone |3 from which the basic fabric of the stocking is knit, and the intermittently operated splice yarn feeds 91 incorporate splice yarn into the spliced portions of the stockngs.

The drum 2 is provided with inner and outer sinker rings l6 and I1 provided with aligning radial grooves which grooves are staggered with respect to the needle grooves in the cylinder. Sinkers I8 slide in said grooves, between the needles. Each sinker is provided with an off-set l9 lying in anendless cam track 20, see Figures 4. and '7. By means of said cam track the sinkers are slidably reciprocated radiallywith respect to the needle drum 2 and intersect the circular bank of needles.

of a needle and thus perform its part in the loop forming operation. 7 The needle drum 2 is revoluble in either direction and the needles are operated by the cams in customary manner so that the booked ends of the needles intersect the zone of the sinker nose 2| in each direction of movement of the needle. Upon upward movement of the needle the loop surrounding the needle de-'- scends below the latch 22 and on the reverse dles by the splice feed which reciprocates so as to make the presentation of the splice yarn to the needles intermittent so that the splicing takes place during only a part revolution of the knitter. The stocking as knit descends through the tubular middle portion 23 of the needle drum, the latter having a spiral feather 24 which in the rotation of the drum propels the finished portion of the stocking downward. The stocking when completed is removed through a hand hole 25 in the standard i. In the knitting machine as illustrated,- a dial 26 is formed in the hinged top 21 of the knitting machine, said dial being in juxtaposition to the needles for forming the welts of the stockings in known manner. The top may be swung open giving access to the working ends of the needles and to the knitting. The top affords the support for certain fulcra and other appurtenant mechanism.

The present invention proposes to add to the conventional circular knitting machine as at present known and above described, two additional stitch forming stations in addition to the single station inherent in the original machine, drawing yarn from two additional spools or cones. In the development of the needle contour shown in Figure 11, these new stations are represented by reference characters 28 and 29 and since that part of the bank of needles represented by the level stretch 30 and 3| in Figure 11 is concerned with transfer mechanism carried in the dial and cannot be disturbed, the additional stations 28 and 29 must be crowded into a space scarcely Each sinker is provided with a nose 2| adapted to engage the yarn at the sidel0 and It for switching the needles to producemore than half the circumference of the needle bank. v

For the purpose of forming loops or stitches at the additional points indicated, it is necessary 'to form two distinct needle peaks 32 and 33, the rising slopes being produced by the leveling cams 34 and 36 while the declining slopes are produced by the stitch forming cams 36 and 31, the lower surfaces of the butts of the-needles riding upon the top faces of the leveling cams and the upper surfaces of said needles riding against the lower ing knitting movements of the sinkers at the additional stitch forming stations and also to provide feeds both normal and splicing feeds at each of said stations.

The stitching and leveling cams will now be described. Figure 3 shows-that the leveling cams 34 and are pivotally mounted as at 38 and 39 to the stationary base or standard, so that these cams can be swung into or-=out of the paths of the butts of the needles. The leveling cam 34 is connected by a link 40 to a vertical rod 4|, see Figure 1, the lower end of which is in operative relation to the cam 42 shown in Figure 10. Said cam is mounted on the cam shaft 3 and rotates synchronously with the other cams on said cam shaft as will appear. When the rod 4| is on a cam elevation, the cam 34 is pulled out of the path of the needle butts. When the rod 4| is in a depression on the cam 42 the cam 34 is swung to a position in which it is in the path of the needle butts. Since one-half of the circumferential bank of needles have shorter butts than the other half as will appear from an inspection of Figure 3, it is obvious that when the cam 34 is swung into operative position it contacts the shorter butts and thus rides under the longer butts until the sufficient number of needles having the longer butts has been elevated by said cam to provide a space into which it slips against the wall of the needle drum and therefore in the path of the needles having the shorter butts.

The leveling cam 35 is quite similar to the leveling cam 34 being connected to a link 43 which in turn is connected with a rod 44 contacting the cam 45 on the cam shaft 3 and being operated thereby.

The stitch forming cams 36 and 31 are formed at the inner ends of slides 46 and 41 which operate in guiding frames 48,and 49 suitably positioned with respect to the needle drum. The slide 46 is provided near its outer end with a roller or similar device 50, and the frame 48 is provided with a bridge piece 5| between which and said roller, the nose of a sliding cam 52 extends. When said nose is moved to the right it wedges between the bridge piece 5| and the roller 50, drawing the slide back and causing the cam to recede from the path of the needle butts; The cam 52 is at the forward end of a link 53, the rear end of which is connected to a rocking lever 54 fulcrumed about a vertical post 55 and extending to the opposite side of the machine where it is connected to a push rod 55 engaging the surface of a rotatable cam 51 on the shaft 4.

The stitching cam 31 is likewise formed with a slide 41 operating in a fixed frame 49. In this instance, a roller 58 is provided and a bridge piece 59, but the roller is adjacent the needle drum .while the bridge piece is remote therefrom. A link 60 having a wedge-like cam 6| is providea,

roller and with it the cam 31 into the path of the needles. Reverse movement of course withdraws the cam 31 from the path of the needles. The

link 68 is connected to a bell crank 62 having a being connected by a link 63 to a push rod 64 in Figures 1,- 2, 4 and 5. They comprise brackets 83 and 84 fixed with respect to a rocking lever 85, and adjustable with respect thereto by means I of a screw and slot connection 86. The brackets having at its lower end a foot 85 engaging the K periphery of a rotary cam 68. 1

The stitching cams are operatively connected to the sinker retracting mechanism which will now be described.

tion. The sinkers are retracted, at the proper J point by a fixedcam 68, see Figure 7, projecting out into the sinker cam. track 28.- In the present invention,since the sinkers niust be reciprocated that these must be drawn out of operative position synchronouslvwith the withdrawing of the stitching and leveling cams, they are made movable radially in or out with respect to the needle -69 to the stitching cam 31. A concealed spring means forming a ledge I I3 on which the roller these two springs.

Figure 6 shows that 'the sinker cam 69 is in connection by means of a vertical web II with a slide 12 mounted in 'a hollow guide member I3 and that the slide when pulled-radially outwardly draws the sinkers back with which it is at the time in engagement. The'sinkers thus-become inoperative and no loop can be formed. The movement of each of the stitching cams for example, the cam 31, is synchronized with the movement of the sinker cam, for example, the sinker cam 59 by means of a rocking lever I4 fulcrumed at an intermediate point I to a fixed lug 16. The lower end of the rocking lever 14 has an ofi-set portion 11 engaging the inner face of the roller 58 while the upper end of said lever engages in a notch I8 in the slide I2. A thumb screw 19 projecting into said slot makes it possible to adjust the relation of the'sinker cam 88 presses a plunger 8| outwardly against an over-turned flange 82 on the slide ,41 of the stitching cam 31 and holdsit normally in inactive position. The garter spring 61' normally holds the slide 12 in inoperative position. The lever I4 is normally held inert between the tension of When the stitching cam 317 is moved into operative position by the wedge cam GI 'which acts between .the bridge piece 59 and theroller 58, the lever I4 is rocked'ina counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 6, so as to bring the stitching cam 3T and the sinker cam 69 into operative position at the same The connection between the stitching cam 36 and the corresponding sinker track cam 88 is substantially identical to the arrangement just de sdribed.

The earns 42 and 66 which control the leveling cams are so set on the shaft 3 with respect to the cams 45 and 51! which control the stitch forming cams that the stitch forming cams, leveling cams and the sinker track cams of the auxiliary knitting stations all move into and out of operative position simultaneously.

The auxiliary feeds which correspond to the additional stitch forming stations are illustrated are formed with over-turned ends 81 at the top.

provided with a hole 88. A similar hole 89 is in the bottom of the brackets. Yarn from the two auxiliary spools or cones pass through the holes in the respective brackets. brackets the lever 85 is provided with upstanding posts 98 on each ofwhich slides a block 5, against the resistancevof a spring 92 surrounding said post and kept under normal tension between the block 9I and a nut 93. A pin 94 mounted in the lever 85 passes freely through an aperture in the block and inhibits any tendency of the latter to rotate the post 98. The blocks extend laterally from behind the brackets,

. the extending portion of each block resting upon a lever 95, see Figure 4, pivoted to the lever 85. The lever, 95 has an extension 96 engaged by suitable operating means for rocking said lever Rearwardly of the 7 in a vertical plane and raising or lowering the block 9i. Said block carries a tubular guide 91 for receiving a splice yarn and bringing it into operative proximity to the needles.

The means for-reciprocating the block 9| for the purpose of bringing the splice feed 91 into and. out of operative proximity to theneedles comprises a push rod 98, the lower end 99 of whichv slides in a guiding sleeve I88. The intermediate part of said push rod is formed as a sleeve I M, the axis of which is perpendicular to the'adjacent portion of the push rod. Slidably mountedin said sleeve is a plunger I82 having a roller I83 at its inner end. Said plunger is normally maintained in retracted position by means of a spring I84 and the plunger may be pushed outwardly at the proper point in the cycle of operation of the machine by a rocking lever I85 pivoted at I86 to a fixed part of the machine I83 may roll when in extended position., In front of the ledge H3 at a suitable point is the cam 4, see Figure 1. In that phase of functioning of the machine in which therspliced portions of the stocking are being knit, the roller I83 remains in retracted position, but rides intermittently upon the surface of the cam I I4 once for .each rotation of the needle cylinder. This elevates the push rod 98 against the tension of the spring III, raises the lever 95, lifts the block 9i and with it the splice feed 9'8, removing the spliceyarn from operative relation to the bank of. needles. At the. point in the knitting where it is proper to throw the splice feed out of act-' altogether, the p an I'IIl lowers the collar" I89, causing the lever I85 to swing inward against the pressure of the spring I84 urging the roller I89 outwardly so that-when it rides upon the cam H4 it slides over upon the ledge H3 and stays there until by the rising of the collar I89; the p the lever I 85 is permitted to swing outwardly at its upper end allowing the spring I84 to retract maintained elevated and out of operative position.

This structure is substantially duplicated with respect to both of the auxiliary feeding stations. Simultaneously with the withdrawal of the auxiliary stitching and leveling cams, and the sinker track cams from operative position, both of the auxiliary feeds are elevated so as to throw them out of operation. This is accomplished by rocking upwardly the lever 85 upon which the auxiliary feeds are mounted. Said rocking lever is pivoted at the point H5 and the end of said lever remote from the auxiliary feeds is engaged by a push rod II6 operated synchronously with said drum and simultaneously with the sinker path diverting means and the means which forms the auxiliary stitching stations, so as to raise both the basic yarn and splice yarn feeds simultaneously with the obliteration of the auxiliary stitching stations. Said push rod is normally raised holding the lever 85 down to its normal position in which the auxiliary feeds are in operative adjacency to the needles. When the push rod IIG recedes downwardly, the spring II'I lifts the lever 85.

Referring to the development of the needle contour shown in Figure 11, it is obvious that a depressor for the most recently knit courses is required at the points indicated at a. and b so as to hold the stocking down and prevent it rising under the frictional contact with the needles rising on the adjacent slopes. These depressors must be so constituted as to be withdrawnsynchronously with the stitching and leveling cams and the sinker cams. With this end in View, the

uprights H8 and H9 are provided, suitably se-.

cured by the screwsIZO and l2I, respectively, which hold'the rollers 50 and 58 in place. Each of the uprights is provided with an eye having a horizontal axis through which passes a sliding rod I22. The inner end of the rods I22 are freely connected to lugs I23 formed on the depressors I24 and I25. Said depressors are in the form of rocking levers pivotally secured at the points I26 and I2! to the upper part of the revolving cylinder.

The depressor I28 illustrated in Figure 8 is the normal depressor associated with the sinker stitching station provided'in the known type of machine and is not. particularly concerned with the present improvements.

Since the rollers 50 and 58 move in and out as the stitching cams assume operative or inoperative position, the uprights H8 and H9 partake of the. same motion. When they move out, the depressors I24 and I25 are withdrawn. When they move'in the depressors return to operative position. Springs. I29 and I30 held in compression on opposite sides of the eyeat the top of each upright, perform the usual function 'of cushioning the movement of: the parts which they engage.

The operation of the circular type of knitting machine is well known and need not here be described in detail. It is understood that the shaft 3 rotates once in the making of a stocking being geared to the needle drum so thatthe latter makes a single revolution for each course of knitting. Normally, during the knitting of a stocking on a machine embracing the improvements of the present invention, yarns are supplied to the feeding means from as many as six different cones or a smaller number if desired, threeof the yarns being designed for the basic fabric of the stocking while the other three are splice yarns. The several cams'on the shaft 3 are so the splice feeds are maintained in inactive position, three yarns from three separate cones being employed at the three stitch formingstations in the simultaneous knitting of the three courses during a single revolution of the needle drum. This continues until the portion to be spliced is reached, whereupon automatically oneof several things may occur according to the setting of the pattern mechanism. If it be desired that the portion to be spliced, (the high splice, for example), shall consist of a yarn taken from a single cone, with a single splice thread, the auxiliary stitching and leveling .cams and the corresponding sinker track cams move to inoperative position and said portion is knit with the single basic yarn and splicing yarn as though the improvements of the present invention were not present.-

While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to be a preferred and practical embodiment of the invention, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the details I of construction as shown and described and, ex-

. sive courses from yarns derived from separate spools comprising in combination with the known needle drum, annular bank of needles and cooperating sinkers, the main stitching station and means for supplying a basic yarn and a splice yarn to said station; one or more auxiliary stitching stations, a basic yarn guide and a splice yarn guide for presenting a basic yarn.

and a 'splice yarn to each auxiliary station, a cam carried by said drum, individual means associated with each splice yarn guide, sequentially operated by said cam in the rotation of said drum, for reciprocating said splice yarn guides to and from operative position once during each rotation of said drum, and means for holding said splice yarn guides out of operation while permitting the basic yarns to be drawn from all stations, and means for withdrawing both said splice yarn-presenting means and basic yarnpresenting means for each auxiliary station out of operative position, and simultaneously obliterating said auxiliary stitching stations.

2. Circular knitting machine for making ringless hosiery by simultaneously knitting successive coursesfrom yarns derived from separate spools comprising in combination with the known needle drum, annular bank of needles and cooperating sinkers, the main stitching station and means to supply a basic yarn and a 7 splice yarn to said station; one or more auxiliary stitching stations, at basic yarn guide and splice yarn guide for presenting a basic yarn and a splice yarn to each auxiliary station, a cam carried by saiddrum, individual means associated with each splice yarn guide sequentially operated by said cam in the rotation of said drum for reciprocating said splice yarn guides to and from operative position once during each rotation of said drum, and means on said drum for inhibiting the reciprocatory movement of said splice yarn guides responsive to a cooperative position of said cam-operated means. and means synchronized with said drum to act after a determined number of rotations of said drum for shifting said cam-operated means in position 9,120,752 to be caught and retained by said inhibiting relative thereto, a basic yarn guide carried by each support and normally in operative position with respect to its station, a splice yarn guide on each support reciprocable with respect thereto and normally in operative position with respect to its station, means for reciprocating said splice yarn guides independently of said supports and sequentially to bring them into and out of operativerelation to their respective stations in sequence once during each rotation of said drum, means for holding them out of operative position after a determined number of rotations of said drum, while permitting the basic yarn guide to remain in inoperative postion, and means for simultaneously movingboth supports together with the guides carried thereby out of operative position, and simultaneously obliterating said auxiliary stations. I

4. Circular knitting machine for making ring-- less hosiery by simultaneously knitting successive courses from yarns derived from separate spools as claimed in claim 3, the means for reciprocating said splice yarn guides including a cam on said drum, push rods having a normal spring determined position, operatively connected to said guides; and members on said push rods successively displaced by said cam on each rotation of said drum.

5. Circular'knitting machine for making ringless hosiery by simultaneously knitting successive coursesfrom yarns derived from separate spools as claimed in claim 3, the means for holding each splice yarn guide out of position comprising a collar on said drum, a cam on the peripheral face of said collar, said collar form ing a circumferential ledge adjacent the zone of said cam, a plunger carrying a cam displaced member, a spring normally retracting said plunger, means for pushing said plunger drumwards against the bias of said spring, normally overcome by said spring means for actuating said pushing means against the tension of said spring, movement of the plunger being thwarted by the peripheral face of said collar until said member engages said cam, being displaced by the latter to the level of said ledge, and shifted to said ledge by said pushing means.

6. Circular knitting machine for making ringless hosiery by simultaneously knitting successive courses'from yarns derived from separate spools as claimed in claim 3', the means for simultane ously moving both guidesof both supports to inoperative position' including a pivotal arm on which said supports are mounted, and means for rocking said arm, said rocking means being syn-- chronized with said drum.

'7; Circular knitting machine for less hosiery by simultaneously knitting successive courses from yarns derived from separate spools as claimed in claim '3, the means for moving eabh splice yarn guide including a collar on said drum, a cam on the peripheral face of said collar, said making ringcollar forming a circumferential ledge adjacent the zone of said cam, a push rod havinga normal spring-determined position operatively connectedto-sai'd guide, a plunger, and a member on said plunger displaced by said cam on each rotation of said drum, the means for holding each splice yarn guide out of operative position comprising a spring normally retracting said plunger, means for pushing said plunger drumwards against the bias of said spring; normally overcome by said spring, means for actuating said pushing means, movement of the plunger being thwarted by the peripheral face of said collar 'untilsaid 'memberengages said cam, being displaced by the latter to the level of said ledge, and shifted to said ledge by said pushing means, the means for simultaneously moving both guides of both supports to inoperative position including a pivoted arm on which said supports are mounted, and means for rocking said arm, said rocking means being synchronized with said drum.

8. Circular knitting machine for making a ringless hosiery by simultaneouly knitting successive courses from yarns derived from separate' the main stitching station, and means for supplying a basic yarn and a splice yarn to said station, means for creating and obliterating one or more auxiliary stitching stations comprising one or more pairs of stitching and leveling cams movable into and out of operative relation to said needle bank, and means for diverting the track of sinkers in the region of the auxiliary stations into and out of operative relation to the needles, means for synchronizing the movement of said sinker track diverting means and said cams so as to cause them to operate together, depressors at said auxiliary stations normally overlying the circumference of said needle bank at said stations. and means for reciprocating said depressors into and out of obstructing position with the edge of 

